A guy on a job near Mobile told me to watch the pump pressure like a hawk

We were working a sandbar project, and this old hand from a different crew saw me just checking the cutter head. He said, 'Kid, the pump gauge tells the story before the head does. If that needle starts to dance, you've got about 90 seconds before you're pulling a clog.' I nodded but didn't really think about it. Two days later, we were moving good material and I was focused on the swing. The pressure started jumping, just a little. I remembered what he said and killed the pump. Sure enough, we found a chunk of waterlogged timber jammed in the line. If I'd waited, it would have been a four hour fix instead of twenty minutes. That guy saved us a huge headache. How do you all spot a line clog coming on before it's a full stop?

4 comments

4 Comments

davidkim3mo ago

Actually, the pump sound usually gets deeper, not higher.

roberts.leo3mo ago

Listen for a change in the pump's sound too, it gets a higher pitch right before the pressure gauge twitches.

drew_jones313mo ago

Hey @roberts.leo, that's a solid tip. I've noticed the sound changes even before the needle moves on some cheaper gauges with a slow response. It's like an early warning system if you know what to listen for.

sean_green442mo ago

My old compressor had a gauge that was basically useless, lagging way behind. I learned to just ignore it and listen for that little whine right as it got close to full. Saved me from popping a tire more than once.